A group of Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans in New York are coming together to deliver food to frontline staff in hospitals around the city during the COVID-19 crisis.
The group is part of the Charles N. Bajart Jr. American Legion Post, a veterans support organization in the Bronx that has redirected its efforts towards hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The "Bajart" consists of a huge amount of Irish and Irish American members and the organization set up the "Front Lines Project" in response to the current crisis.
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The group is trying to source donations and volunteers to be able to deliver food to hospitals on a consistent basis.
"We can deliver homemade/catered food to our local hospitals and our Front-Line workers who are battling this virus around the clock," the group said in a statement on Facebook.
"It will be a small sign of love and support to let those on the front lines know that we are behind them and always will be."
The Front Lines Project has already delivered food to hospital staff at seven different New York hospitals since April 6 thanks to generous donations from a number of Irish American families and the tireless work of volunteers who helped to package and deliver the food.
Bernard McCaffrey, for example, supplied staff at the Wakefield Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx by buying more than 80 meals from a local Bronx eatery. McCaffrey sponsored the delivery through his business Five Sons Safety Consulting.
Other Irish-Americans have supplied staff by buying ingredients in supermarkets and cooking the meals themselves. The O'Donnell and Neilis families, for instance, supplied staff at the Einstein Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center by getting up early and preparing dozens of meals for staff.
All meals are cooked on the day of delivery.
The Front Lines Project has extended its reach beyond the Bronx and delivered pizzas to Bellevue Hospital and New York Presbyterian Beekman in Manhattan thanks to a donation from Pie Guys Pizzeria in Riverdale.
The group is currently trying to source more donors and volunteers for future deliveries and their admirable work deserves recognition and praise.
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